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Better Vehicle Management and Fuel Efficiency

February 23, 2009

Better Vehicle Management and Fuel Efficiency

 

One of the issues I have recently raised with the Village staff, and I will work to implement as Villa Park President, is a program regarding Village Vehicles and more cost effective and efficient management of our vehicle fleet.

 

For example, once a police car reaches about 85,000 miles, we pass that vehicle down to community development or another village department, and purchase a new police car at a cost of about $25,000. This cost can be even higher if we have to replace some of the police equipment such as the emergency light bar.

 

As Village President I would seek to change this policy. Instead of replacing the vehicle at 85,000 miles, I would instead have the vehicle revamped with a new engine and transmission, suspension and other vital components. This would carry a much lower cost of approximately $10,000. By doing this, along with some enhanced maintenance, we could extend the life of a police car to more than double what it is now, saving the village many thousands of dollars every year.

 

I would then seek to equip other village departments with electric or hybrid vehicles. The hand me down police cars these departments use are terrible fuel wasters for their usage. By converting the non police vehicle fleet to plug in hybrid or all electric vehicles, we would save a tremendous amount of money in fuel costs, as well as be more environmentally responsible. Additionally, we may qualify for state and federal grants to purchase the “Green” vehicles, further adding to the savings to the village.

 

We could even install solar panels to act as a fuel source for these vehicles, reducing the operating costs to very low levels.

 

This kind of forward thinking is exactly what our village needs and what I believe makes me a strong candidate for Village President.

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